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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26402551">Spiking Strength</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/xo_thefirst/pseuds/-catalyst'>-catalyst (xo_thefirst)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Haikyuu!!</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Established Relationship, Fluff and Humor, M/M, Post-Time Skip, Slice of Life</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 11:15:28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,913</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26402551</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/xo_thefirst/pseuds/-catalyst</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Two girls mention Kei’s beauty and strength and now Tobio can’t stop wondering if Kei has actually, indeed, become stronger over the years they’ve been together. (Kei has always been pretty. There’s no need to wonder about that.)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Kageyama Tobio/Tsukishima Kei</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>283</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Spiking Strength</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>because of the new buff tsukki official art acrylic standee everything</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The stadium isn’t as full as it should be. Less than half the seats are taken by spectators and it’s glaringly obvious how many seats are still empty when Tobio glances around the gym again. It isn’t as upsetting as he’d expect, considering this is what the Adlers see when they have their own scrimmages, but he thought there would be a bigger turn-out. It’d only make sense. It’s one of the last scrimmages before the official games that determine whether the Sendai Frogs make it into the division one league or not.</p><p>Though, he’s not all that concerned. He’s been watching all their games ever since Kei made it into the team. They have potential and, with Kyoutani and Koganegawa, he expects the Frogs to be in the same division as him by the end of the year.</p><p>Suddenly, a whistle sounds. Time-out is over and Tobio glances back down to see where everyone stands. Kei isn’t on the court yet, but he’s drinking from his bottle while listening to their coach. There’s an empty spot left and Tobio stares as Kei gives one final nod before making it there. He says something to Koganegawa, and then Kyoutani gets ready to serve. His hits still sound like a clap of thunder, but he’s improved a lot over the years. He has better control and more strength and Tobio watches as the other team’s libero manages to get the ball back up into the air.</p><p>The rally doesn’t last long, with the other team scoring a point, but then Kei successfully blocks their next attack and the Frogs get the point back. They keep trading on and off, but with Kyoutani’s power and Kei’s blocks, the Sendai Frogs win the second set.</p><p>By the middle of the third set, the Frogs are ahead. They seem more collected this time around, but Tobio’s noticed this is simply how they work. Kei always likes to observe and analyze, waiting until he knows a certain play will succeed, and it looks like that’s how the Sendai Frogs have developed their own plays. It was weird at first, but then it started working. Their team has the necessary players to do this well and Tobio is still amazed every time he watches a game in-person.</p><p>Another receive, another set, another spike.</p><p>Every game is mesmerizing with great players and Tobio bounces a little in his seat when he remembers, any day now, that he and Kei could face each other. It’s like a broken record in his head at this point, but he wants to know who’ll win, if it’ll be a repeat from their first ever game against each other in high school or not. Can Kei receive his aces? Can he block his spikes? Can he figure out when he’ll do another setter dump?</p><p>“He’s tall, blonde, and gorgeous. Who <i>wouldn’t</i> want to date him?”</p><p>Tobio freezes at the words. They weren’t said overly loud, but he’s pretty sure he wasn’t the one who said them. He waits as he listens for the person to speak again, glancing around him to see who it was, and his heart stutters when he realizes it’s the two girls sitting near him a row below. They’re sighing and giggling. It’d look weird, but he knows these are how girls act when they have a crush on somebody. He remembers Miwa doing this when they were kids and she liked this one older girl he didn’t know about.</p><p>“Have you seen his arms? He looks so strong. If he can spike <i>that</i> hard, what else can he do?”</p><p>Now, Tobio’s just confused. He looks back to the court where Kei delivers a perfect spike and gets the Frogs their last point to win the game. His vision zeroes in on his arms, but he doesn’t think they look any different. If anything, they might look a bit bigger because he’s been working out, but it’s not by much. He frowns when he sees Koganegawa look up at him surprised, then waves. That’s his cue to leave the stands.</p><p>“Come on! Let’s go down there and get Tsukishima-san’s autograph real quick!’</p><p>Tobio can hear the girls stand and leave, but he doesn’t bother looking back. He keeps his head down and shoulders hunched, hoping his jacket and hat are enough to conceal his identity, and he doesn’t look up until he’s outside the stadium sitting on one of the benches a little farther away from the entrance.</p><p>It’s not that dark out yet. It’s a pretty shade of pinks and blues and he ignores anyone who calls out to him with a voice he doesn’t recognize. He’s discovered that if he doesn’t respond, strangers will assume he’s <i>not</i> Kageyama Tobio of the Schweiden Adlers and easily move on.</p><p>But he can’t. He can’t stop repeating the girls’ words in his head. He’s been with Kei for close to six years now and he’s known him as a teammate far longer than that. He didn’t think Kei had changed in that time span. He’s still taller than him, older than him, and meaner than him, but that’s it. They work out together when they can and then they video call when they can’t. Are Kei’s arms really that strong? Has Kei tried picking him up before?</p><p>“Kageyama!” someone suddenly shouts. The sky has turned darker, almost all the pinks and oranges gone, and he looks over to see Koganegawa running towards him with a bright smile on his face. “I didn’t know you were back in town!”</p><p>Tobio smiles as he stands up. “I got back today,” he says, wincing when Koganegawa suddenly pulls him in for a hug. He never expects that. He raises an eyebrow when he finally notices Kyoutani trailing behind him, tilting his chin in his direction in greeting, “Hey, what’s up?”</p><p>“Oh, does Tsukki know you’re back?”</p><p>“No,” Tobio says, nodding at the other. “Hey.”</p><p>“Here to pick up Tsukishima?” Kyoutani asks, before he throws a thumb up behind him. “He’s talking to the coach. Want us to get him?”</p><p>Without a second thought, Tobio glances back at the stadium. Almost everybody from the scrimmage is already gone, with only a couple of stragglers lagging behind, and he shakes his head at his friends. “No, it’s fine,” he answers, looking back to them. “I’ll just wait here.” He huffs when Koganegawa suddenly pats his shoulder hard.</p><p>“Tsukki didn’t believe me when I said I saw you in the stands. He’s going to apologize to me tomorrow when he realizes I was right.”</p><p>At that, Kyoutani scoffs. “Yeah, right, like he’d do that.”</p><p>“Well, he should!”</p><p>Tobio chuckles at them. “He’s stubborn, so he might not,” he adds in, smiling when Koganegawa pouts at him and Kyoutani laughs.</p><p>“See? Even Mr. Tsukishima thinks so,” Kyoutani teases.</p><p>“Why can’t Kageyama keep his name and Tsukishima take his name?” Koganegawa suddenly argues. “Or why can’t they keep their own names? Isn’t that a thing?”</p><p>Tobio feels like he’s going to have a meltdown. It isn’t even the first time they’ve teased them like this before, but he always feels the same whenever they bring this up. Embarrassed, and brimming with happiness.</p><p>“Oh! There’s Tsukki now!”</p><p>“Then that means it’s time we leave,” Kyoutani declares. He pushes at Koganegawa and then they’re off. “See you later, Kageyama.”</p><p>Tobio can only wave at them silently, still confused at what just happened and why they keep teasing him like this. It’s not like they have any plans to get married any time soon. He hopes. He still has plans to go to Italy in a couple of months. He doesn’t think they can get married if he’s going to be in a different country, especially if Kei and the Sendai Frogs are working hard to get promoted to division one. Would they even have time to plan the ceremony? That’s a thing couples do, right?</p><p>“Tobio?”</p><p>Tobio spins at the voice. Kei is walking up to him with an eyebrow raised, almost questioning his existence and why he’s even here, but then he lifts up a hand to rub at his temple instead. A furrow forms between his eyebrows and Tobio doesn’t hesitate in walking forward to reach up and massage Kei’s temples for him. “I’m here,” he quietly says, watching as Kei sighs softly in response.</p><p>“You are,” Kei breathes, closing his eyes and bowing his head a bit. “What are you doing here? Don’t you have a game tomorrow?”</p><p>Kei is cool to the touch, never excessively warm unless he has a fever, and Tobio glances around them to make sure nobody else is there before he leans up to kiss his forehead. He hears Kei hum in response and he smiles at it. “My game got postponed, so I decided to come back to see your game.”</p><p>“It’s a scrimmage.”</p><p>Tobio rolls his eyes. “Same thing,” he mutters before he drops his hands. He stares as Kei opens his eyes after, a pretty gold color, and soft. Kei always looks soft like this and Tobio is always mesmerized by it. “Let’s get some food and go home,” he suggests a moment later, watching as Kei’s eyes start to shine under the lit streetlight.</p><p>“Okay.”</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Except, it’s not. It’s totally not okay because now Tobio is hyperaware of Kei and his arms. Kei is currently holding his sports bag on one shoulder while he volunteered to hold the food they bought to eat with the other. Both arms are occupied while Tobio isn’t carrying anything and he keeps glancing over to see if his boyfriend’s arms are shaking in the slightest. They don’t seem to be and that’s after playing an entire <i>scrimmage</i>. He’s pretty sure Kei would’ve always given up the chance to carry anything after they became third years and started dating. It was just a known fact Tobio’s always been stronger than him. Has he really not noticed Kei has gotten even more so over the years?</p><p>By the time they make it back to Kei’s apartment, Tobio isn’t subtle. He flinches when Kei carefully places everything down before he’s spinning to stare at him with hands on his hips. “Okay, king, spill it,” he demands, frowning at him. “You’ve been jittery the entire walk home. What did Koganegawa and Kyoutani tell you?”</p><p>The question catches Tobio off-guard. “They didn’t say anything to me,” he answers—well, <i>not much</i>—, before he sees Kei raise an eyebrow at him. “I’ve been staring at your arms.”</p><p>That seems to break Kei because now he looks confused instead of annoyed. Tobio’s still not sure, but he prefers a confused Kei over an annoyed one. “My arms?” he asks. His hands fall from his hips but then he’s raising one to stare at his forearm. “What’s with my arms?”</p><p>“I don’t know,” Tobio answers truthfully. Since it’s in full view now, he can’t stop staring at them. “These girls were talking about your arms. I didn’t notice.”</p><p>Kei still looks confused. “Didn’t notice what? Use your words, king.”</p><p>“Your arms!” Tobio shouts, frowning at him. “They’re all… muscular!”</p><p>For a moment, Kei simply stares at him. “We work out together all the time, Tobio,” he finally says, turning back around to unpack the food. “Of course you wouldn’t notice a change. We’ve known each other for a long time now.”</p><p>“That still doesn’t explain—” Tobio huffs, before he walks up to his boyfriend and grabs an arm. He spins him so they’re facing each other, but then he’s squeezing Kei’s forearm. It’s such a strange feeling, especially when Kei closes his hand into a fist, and he can’t stop staring at it even as Kei raises his other hand to cradle his jaw and lift his head up to face him instead. “Kei,” he suddenly says, voice serious. His boyfriend only looks amused and that’s annoying. “Are you stronger than me now?”</p><p>Kei laughs at that. His expression lightens up and Tobio sputters as he’s suddenly brought in for a kiss on the lips. It’s kind of uncomfortable with how Kei keeps laughing, but then he’s settling down and Tobio really likes this type of kiss. Kei is holding his head in place and guiding him backwards and his lips are so, so soft. He feels like he’s mush, putty in Kei’s hands, and then he gasps when his back hits a wall. Kei’s tongue suddenly licks its way into his mouth and Tobio groans, gripping on tight to Kei’s shirt.</p><p>“I don’t know, king,” Kei suddenly answers, breaking away for a moment to stare down at him, <i>always</i> staring down at him. Tobio pouts when he remembers he’s never, not once, outgrown Kei in all the years he’s known him. Kei rolls his eyes at him. “Oh, what are you frowning about now?”</p><p>“How tall were you when you were ten?” Tobio immediately asks, watching as Kei snorts at him this time. “We met when we were fifteen.”</p><p>“Did you think five years would’ve made a difference?” Kei is <i>smirking</i> at him and Tobio <i>hates</i> it. “I’ve always been taller than my classmates.”</p><p>Before Tobio can even argue how that should be impossible, hands grip the backs of his thighs and he jumps, startled, only to suddenly be lifted in the air and pinned to the wall. His hands scramble for purchase around Kei’s neck and he refuses to admit he yelps when hips pin his own to keep him up in the air. Now, he’s looking down at a smirking Kei and he feels all kinds of things he doesn’t even know how to explain. His face feels hot, though. He feels like he’s burning up.</p><p>“There, now you’re taller than me and, yes, indeed, I am now stronger,” Kei says. He looks so <i>smug</i>. Tobio is pretty sure he shouldn’t feel like falling to his knees to worship him. “Don’t know if I’m stronger than you, though.”</p><p>Tobio can’t even hear his own boyfriend over the rush of blood in his ears. He can only stare down at him, seeing how pretty Kei looks this close to him. He doesn’t even realize he’s leaning down to kiss him until he feels Kei hum against his lips. Holy <i>shit</i>, Kei isn’t even <i>shaking</i>. He groans as he immediately deepens the kiss, threading his fingers in Kei’s hair to try and pull him closer even though he can’t <i>move</i>.</p><p>There’s another soft hum and then there’s more pressure to keep Tobio suspended. He feels like the air is being squeezed out of his lungs, but he only tightens his thighs around Kei’s waist. When Kei breaks the kiss again, Tobio whines. Lips ghost along his jawline down to his neck and he lifts his head up in response, tightening the grip he has in Kei’s hair to keep him close.</p><p>“Satisfied now, king?” Kei murmurs against him, mouthing along his pulse point. “Ready to eat? Food’s getting cold.”</p><p>“I want to kiss you more,” Tobio confesses, whining when he feels Kei’s hand move closer to grip his butt instead. “Kei.”</p><p>“Insatiable,” Kei mumbles, but it sounds overly fond. “Food first, Tobio.”</p><p>Tobio doesn’t let go even as Kei attempts to step away from the wall. He ends up clinging onto him, trying to keep his lips on his, and he laughs as Kei grunts before he’s being slammed back into the wall. Suddenly, the kiss is much harsher, more forceful, and Tobio can’t get enough. He sighs softly as Kei leads the pace and the kiss slowly feels gentler than a butterfly’s kiss on fingertips.</p><p>“Ready now?” Kei whispers in-between kisses. “Come on, Tobio. I’m hungry.”</p><p>“Oh, that’s a first,” he answers back, pulling away to see Kei scowling up at him. It makes him smile. “Does this mean you’ll eat more than usual?”</p><p>Kei only gives him That Look. “We’ll see.”</p><p>Tobio laughs as he finally lets Kei put him down, he smiles as Kei immediately pushes him back into the wall to give him another lingering kiss, and he hums as he stares up at Kei who stares at him like he’s someone special. Well, he hopes it looks like he’s staring at someone special. Kei doesn’t usually have this expression on his face when he looks at anybody else. Tobio quickly leans up to give him another kiss before he pushes him away. “Let’s eat before you lose your appetite.”</p><p>“Pretty sure I’m losing it right now just talking to you.”</p><p>“You’re such a jerk,” Tobio loudly says, while he grabs some plates from the kitchen. He hears Kei scoff before he goes back to the living room.</p><p>“Says the one who made a little kid cry when they first asked for your autograph.”</p><p>“Do you <i>always</i> have to bring that up?!”</p><p>Kei snorts, “It was simultaneously funny yet sad.”</p><p>“It’s not like you never made a kid cry,” Tobio argues. He puts some food on his plate before he pointedly stares at Kei. “You better eat a lot,” he threatens. He considers it a challenge when Kei raises an eyebrow at him and starts to pick through the food.</p><p>“You can’t dictate my internal organs, king.”</p><p>This time, Tobio rolls his eyes. He waits until Kei sits back with food on his plate before he dumps half of his own meal onto Kei’s plate.</p><p>“Hey— Wait!”</p><p>“You said you’re hungry, so you’re going to <i>eat</i>.”</p><p>“Tobio!”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>happy kagetsuki day!!</p><p>i love them and i adore anyone who reads my fics ;u;</p></blockquote></div></div>
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